May 27, 2018

A Fashion Celebrity @ The 16th International Architecture Biennale, Venice

The 16th International Architecture Biennale officially opened to the public yesterday in Venice, but the press days started last Thursday, attracting the attention of the international media. One of the highlights of the event - which, to be honest, is not as satisfying as the previous editions and seems to lack a sense of unity and direction (is that maybe intentional as the theme chosen by curators Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara is "Freespace"?) - is definitely the Vatican installation on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore.

We will discover more about the Biennale in the next few weeks, for the time being here's Rosita Missoni, a fashion celebrity who unexpectedly stepped into my camera's viewfinder while she was visiting the various chapels designed by different architects for the Pavilion of the Holy See in the woods of San Giorgio Maggiore.

Clad in a colourful outfit that perfectly represented the house she built with her husband, the late Ottavio Missoni, Rosita was rambling around the installations on Saturday morning, quietly mingling with all the other visitors. Fans of the Biennale know that it is actually quite easy to stumble upon her during the press days or at the opening as she is a famous presence at both the art and the architecture Biennale events.